Don't know if anyone was ever a fan of Mr. Show, Bob Odenkirk, or David Cross...

But I once got to watch Bob and David do a kind of Mystery Science Theater 3000 thing with Steve Seagal's On Deadly Ground - which is directed by him...a big part of their humor was true stories about Steven Seagal from when they worked with him on Saturday Live, and maybe some other places, they even had a handout of sorts about it. I guess that sort of thing could be viewed as unhealthy in a Buddhist context, but whatever the case it was hilarious.

Whatever else I feel about the guy, On Deadly Ground is truly a contribution to the tradition of American B-Movie cinema, even though I don't think that was intentional.

No, but one would expect them not to be supporting arms dealers and dodgy politicians.

I am still bemused that he was created a tulku by Penor Rinpoche. The best spin I can put on it is that it is a teaching (by Penor not Seagal) on not taking the tulku thing too seriously. Actions are more important than titles.

Everyone talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it - Mark Twain.

I get the impression Seagal may not know that much about Buddhism? He calls himself a Buddhist, but maybe that was to sound cool? I read an article several years ago where it mentioned he has hundreds of guns and a cattle-beef ranch, raising animals for slaughter. And the article mentioned that he greets people with the saying, "God bless you". Nothing wrong with saying that, especially to a theist, but I got the impression that he doesn't know some of the basics about Buddhism; although I am sure he was a good actor and martial artist.

It has long been noted on Buddhist blogs numerous times that being recognized as as a tulku does not automatically imply some sprt of superior wisdom and ability. In the case of Mr. Seagal, Penor Rinpoche reportedly said specifically that to actualize the functioning of a tulkuhood, a long training is required, which Mr. Seagal had not gone through. Thirty years ago, H.H. the Dalai Lama warned that while looking for a teacher, the title of "tulku" should not be the determining factor; in fact, he implied that the title of "geshe", while not as charismatic, at least indicated some concrete credentials (I don't have the name of the source handy, but it's in one of the earliest English books on tulkus, and could be tracked down if someone was interested).

Historically, as commentators such as Guenther and Geoffrey Samuel have pointed out, the institution of tulku recognition ensured that religious establishments could take a child who was of low social status but who exhibited special qualities, and undertake his education. However, there has also long been recognition of tulkus for political or financial reasons as well. More recently, the obsession of Westerners with outer qualifications rather than inner attainment (see Trungpa on spiritual materialism) has meant that all titles (lama, tulku, "emanation") have been further cheapened. I know of one student (no, I will not name names) who pestered his teacher for years to be recognized as a tulku, and then, when his teacher acquiesced shortly before passing on, wrote a letter to the lama's fellow students, expressing beautifully assumed surprise and modesty.

In short, as the Tibetans say, since we don't know who is a Buddha and who is a thief, we should respect everybody, but keep our hands on our wallets.

No. The lowest ranks of tulkus are reborn karmically in fact with the driving karmic force being their strong bodhicitta. But they are not enlightened at all. Many/most of these tulkus are still on the Path of Accumulation in fact.

My point is that he needs to be setting a good example. His "reality" cop show was fine as the motivation is to help people. But dealing in arms in any way? This is as shocking as the picture of the Roman Catholic cardinal sighting through an assault rifle a few years back.

No. The lowest ranks of tulkus are reborn karmically in fact with the driving karmic force being their strong bodhicitta. But they are not enlightened at all. Many/most of these tulkus are still on the Path of Accumulation in fact.

My point is that he needs to be setting a good example. His "reality" cop show was fine as the motivation is to help people. But dealing in arms in any way? This is as shocking as the picture of the Roman Catholic cardinal sighting through an assault rifle a few years back.

Kirt

I agree! I just don't see that as a reason to hate him, or even to just dislike him or make fun of him. He's still a human being and still deserving of metta. To be honest, the first thing this thread made me think of was the statement "I vow to not speak of the faults of others".

One should not kill any living being, nor cause it to be killed, nor should one incite any other to kill. Do never injure any being, whether strong or weak, in this entire universe!

No. The lowest ranks of tulkus are reborn karmically in fact with the driving karmic force being their strong bodhicitta. But they are not enlightened at all. Many/most of these tulkus are still on the Path of Accumulation in fact.

My point is that he needs to be setting a good example. His "reality" cop show was fine as the motivation is to help people. But dealing in arms in any way? This is as shocking as the picture of the Roman Catholic cardinal sighting through an assault rifle a few years back.

I agree! I just don't see that as a reason to hate him, or even to just dislike him or make fun of him. He's still a human being and still deserving of metta. To be honest, the first thing this thread made me think of was the statement "I vow to not speak of the faults of others".

I'm not speaking about his faults. I'm going to send him a letter/email pointing this out though and ask him to fix his behavior though.

Steven Seagal is just some person that was in some movies a long time ago.

If he thinks he can strengthen ties between Russia and USA/Israel when they're waging a proxy war in Syria over pipelines he's crazy. Israel and the USA will lose a lot if oil comes through Syria and Russia will gain it.